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One night in Tel Aviv

I am traveling with 6 FUN women (35-40) and we have one night in Tel Aviv after arriving from NY (red eye) before hooking up with our tour group the next day. We land in Tel Aviv at 2:40 PM and we have to back at the airport by 1:00 pm the next day to meet our group.

Any advice on a hotel?? We will probably be exhausted but we don't want to waste a night and do nothing.

You don't say what your budget is. Hotels in teh Atlas chain are often recommended as reasonably priced hotels:http://www.atlas.co.il/
The City Hotel is the most centrally located and one block from the beach. The Melody is also a block from the beach and is often recommended.

I've stayed at the Melody 3 times and it's a very good boutique hotel. It's close to the old port area that has many restaurants and shops. It's close to the beach. Rooms are not the largest but it is also close to other restaurants and good walking area. They have a happy hour with good snacks and wine that starts about 4 pm. It's part of the Atlas hotel chain.
Just to let you know the airport is not in tel Aviv. You have to take tyransporation there and it takes about an hour.
Since there will be 7 people, I would suggest taking a shared van, I believe it's called a Sherut. I'm not certain of the spelling. Enjoy your trip. Tel Aviv is a great city.

There is no sherut service from the airport to Tel-Aviv. Your options are a regular taxi or train & taxi. You may be able to get one large taxi to accommodate all of you, otherwise you will need two. Go out of the terminal (avoid anyone who approaches you in the building), walk down to the road and follow the signs to the left to the official taxi stand. The prices are regulated and there is a dispatcher who can help you. It takes less than 30 minutes to drive to Tel-Aviv (longer during morning rush hour).
The current prices are 133 NIS (day) or 152 NIS (night and Saturday). There is a charge of a few NIS for each piece of luggage and for every person if more than two, plus a 5 NIS airport surcharge.
If you search the web you will find limousine companies with minibuses that may be cheaper for a large group.

The simplest and quickest way is to take a taxi, 2, if necessary. Based on the above quoted rates, each cab to Tel aviv will cost around $40 or so. Including a tip, the cost for both cabs will be no more than $100, probably somewhat less. Divided by 7, each person will be paying $14 each way.
Don't even consider taking a train. Just have a good time.
One last thought, in the event the Tour is starting in Tel Aviv, why don't you just meet them at their chosen hotel?

Thanks Jerry - I just checked the conversion rates on Shekels and I agree - we will just take cabs!! The tour starts in the north - we meet at the airport to get check in and get on the bus. I haven't been in Israel in a little under 20 years. Things have changed a lot!! There was definitely no train. I was also much younger and less organized! I can't even remember flying in and out or any hotels.

Id say the budget is about 350 a night max, depending on how many girls can fit in a room. I am not sure if its best to stay by the beach or in the city center. I know we will want to go out for dinner and see a few sites in our less than 24 hour stay.

Hi MiamiBeachMomma. When is your trip? Hotels in Tel Aviv are not cheap but holidays and such make rates even higher. Also what day of the week are you arriving? Are you coming from the U.S and will you have to pick up checked luggage? If so you may not be in your hotel til about 5pm, so much of what you will do with your time will be walking around, eating etc so better weather and daylight will make things more fun,

Just returned from an amazing trip!!!! In TA we stayed at The Rothschild and we all loved it!!! Wish we could have stayed for longer. Everyone there was so helpful and accommodating!!!! We choose to not take the breakfast there and ate down the street at Benedict's - YUM!!!!

Glad you had a good time!
Since there are so few trip reports about Israel at Fodors, it would be great if you could post more details about your tour and about time you traveled independently. People always want to know how specific tours are organized, if you felt it was a good value and if the time spent at different locations felt like the right amount. Also what sites you just liked the most or the least, impressions about food, transportation, about people you encountered, if the time of the year was good or bad due to weather, holidays, seasonal closures, etc.